


slow your breath down

by sky_blue_hightops



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Exhaustion, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Good Parent Quirin (Disney)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:15:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25891960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sky_blue_hightops/pseuds/sky_blue_hightops
Summary: Prompt: worked themself to exhaustion, Varian and Quirin.
Relationships: Quirin & Ruddiger (Disney), Quirin & Varian (Disney), Ruddiger & Varian (Disney)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 85





	slow your breath down

An evening breeze rustled through the orchard, gentle and soothing, and Quirin breathed deep. The young autumn had crept easy and slow over the hills, bringing with it cool winds and early evenings; today was no different. The sun’s last few rays of light slanted through the leaves, barely warm, and he reached up to pluck another apple.

A few trees away, Ruddiger screeched and dug his claws into crisp fruit, clearly enjoying his time outside. Drawing both his son and the little raccoon from whatever project it was they were working on at the moment _was_ fairly difficult, usually. Good thing the promise of time spent together still worked as an effective bribe.

“Don’t forget to-” _check for rot_ died in his throat when Varian poked his head out from behind a tree, one eyebrow raised. On a good day, it would probably look sarcastic, but with the dark circles under his eyes, he only looked exhausted. Quirin knew about the nightmares, knew how Varian buried himself in his work and passions to avoid them and napped in the light of day, but...he looked even more pale and drained out in the fresh air, surrounded by the vibrancy of nature. Like a strong wind could knock him over.

The pause stretched on for a moment more before the eyebrow raised higher. “You okay, Dad?”

“Could ask you that,” he replied. “Why don’t you sit down for a second?”

Varian faltered, a little taken aback by the sudden concern. “We’re almost done, aren’t we? I’m fine! Perfectly fine to help.” He heaved his basket of apples into his arms, spinning abruptly towards the house - which was a mistake, clearly, by the way he swayed and stumbled a step. Quirin crossed quickly to him, holding Varian by the shoulders and easing the basket from his too-tight grip.

“Shh, sit down. I’ll take this load. I’m sure Ruddiger could use a break.” Quirin gently helped Varian sit against the tree and shot the animal a look. Ruddiger froze, his excited frolicking jerking to a halt before he caught on and flopped dramatically into Varian’s waiting hands. Varian snorted quietly, eyes glazing over as he ran his fingers through Ruddiger’s fur. “Give me a minute.”

He scooped up the basket, placing it out of Varian’s reach by the next closest tree. Harvesting a few more to fill up what Varian hadn’t managed to finish only occupied a few minutes, but that was all it took. Quirin tossed in the last apple, and glanced back over at his son. Varian blinked drowsily in the dying sunlight, head nodding every few seconds towards his chest. He was clearly, slowly losing the fight to stay awake, jolting back upright once before scrubbing at his eyes and yawning.

“Time to go inside,” Quirin said, low and easy. Anything louder than a soothing tone and Varian would be up and going once more, determined to finish whatever task he’d fixated on and disappointed if he couldn’t. “Let me help you, son.”

“No, I can…” Another yawn interrupted Varian’s protests. “I can get up...one second…”

“I’m sure you can,” Quirin murmured, amused, but Varian had already drifted off once more. The way his face softened reminded Quirin so much of younger years - of the gentle grip of a small hand around his finger, of a little boy falling asleep on stacks of books, of a young man who still sought out hugs and came bounding to show his dad _everything_.

And when he picked up his sleeping son to bring him inside, there was a quick moment of tension - remnants of a pain he hadn’t been there to shield Varian from, a time spent far too alone - before they both relaxed. “But I’ve got you, now,” Quirin finished. Ruddiger scampered up to his feet and tugged at his pant leg, chirping. “Are you coming or staying?”

The raccoon clawed his way up Quirin’s clothes as if he could understand what the man had said, curling neatly against the back of his neck. The basket of apples sat abandoned at the base of the tree, where he’d set it down.

It’s fine. He could come back and get it later. Some things were far more important.

**Author's Note:**

> this is a whole lot softer than i expected it to be but its okay its what they deserve
> 
> also you bet ur butt im exhausted this is definitely projection wooOo


End file.
